Nils

Here are links to recordings of our “world premiere” live performances of “Hassle in the Castle” and “Mambone”, as well as the SCHINDLER’S LIST pieces and “Duel of the Fates”. As Thor mentioned, the sound quality is not terrific, and the balance is a bit off here and there.   And PLEASE NOTE: We are not the LSO, VPO, or Hollywood studio musicians – just a bunch of people playing an instrument in our spare time. Please keep that in mind when you listen. There IS some shaky stuff in there.    “Hassle in the Castle”: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7xzhxm17jb669u3/Hassle_in_the_Castle.mp3?dl=0   “Mambone”: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ee0ug3ofsm1yz4k/Mambone.mp3?dl=0   “Jewish Town”/”Theme” from SCHINDLER’S LIST (violin: Aja Humm): https://www.dropbox.com/s/oqb0dhle3ktqelq/Schindlers_List.mp3?dl=0   “Duel of the Fates” (this is a shorter version than the original, and with some noticeable differences in the instrumentation – for instance, there is a very prominent snare drum part): https://www.dropbox.com/s/b7av098b8kmyzo7/Duel_of_the_Fates.mp3?dl=0  

Here are links to recordings of our “world premiere” live performances of “Hassle in the Castle” and “Mambone”, as well as the SCHINDLER’S LIST pieces and “Duel of the Fates”. As Thor mentioned, the sound quality is not terrific, and the balance is a bit off here and there.   And PLEASE NOTE: We are not the LSO, VPO, or Hollywood studio musicians – just a bunch of people playing an instrument in our spare time. Please keep that in mind when you listen. There IS some shaky stuff in there.    “Hassle in the Castle”: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7xzhxm17jb669u3/Hassle_in_the_Castle.mp3?dl=0   “Mambone”: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ee0ug3ofsm1yz4k/Mambone.mp3?dl=0   “Jewish Town”/”Theme” from SCHINDLER’S LIST (violin: Aja Humm): https://www.dropbox.com/s/oqb0dhle3ktqelq/Schindlers_List.mp3?dl=0   “Duel of the Fates” (this is a shorter version than the original, and with some noticeable differences in the instrumentation – for instance, there is a very prominent snare drum part): https://www.dropbox.com/s/b7av098b8kmyzo7/Duel_of_the_Fates.mp3?dl=0  

In this topic, there has already been some speculation about WP seating on JW concerts and we had a good chat of our own with @Marian Schedenig so I decided to ask my friend who plays double bass in the orchestra (and also played in both JW concerts). He told me the following: I don't know, we always play in this [i.e. American] setup when we're touring and sometimes also in the Musikverein, depends on the programme/project. I think Williams didn't care about the setup we play in.
 
After Saturday's concert (which I attended), he also told me that the orchestra loved this project and working with JW who "was very nice to everybody" and that he - the bass player - rewatched E.T. before this project "to remember it all". He pointed out the unprecedented reaction of the public which, so he said, "we've never experienced before, regardless of either conductor or venue". They had three rehearsals with Johnny before Saturday. During the intermission I also spoke to percussionist Thomas Lechner (he played the timpani in JW concerts) whom I also met some 10 years ago and he told me basically the same thing - couldn't sing enough praise to the project. He told me he totally remembers how he cried at the end of E.T. when he was a kid and that being able to play all this music with the Maestro himself at the helm is (was) for him a huge privilege.

Thank you, Thor, for doing an amazing job hosting our show!
(I was the one who hired Thor, so I’m at least partially responsible for him having to skip the Vienna event, which was announced after our concert date was set. Sorry, Thor! ) 
Your presentations were excellent, with just the right length and a great mix of interesting, relevant information and fun facts. People from the audience have told me they would have liked to meet you after the concert to congratulate you on your job and tell you how your introductions really enhanced the concert experience for them. Kudos! 
Cool also that you joined us for the after-concert party. 
It was exhilarating to perform a full concert of my favorite composer’s music, and playing the never-before-performed-live (as far as we know) "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" was a blast! Of course, we’re only non-professionals, so there were some rough spots – performing a two hour concert with some quite difficult symphonic music is a challenge!
The selections with the (really excellent) Skala Opera Choir were definitely some of the high points. They were located on two high balconies on each side of the hall, which gave the choir pieces a marvelous, majestic “surround” sound. As a 12 year-old in the audience commented on "Duel of the Fates":  "That was epic!"
Yes, we did both audio and video recordings of the event. I’ll check with the guys responsible for the recordings – hopefully we can post some of it here later.
 
 
Apart from the specially commissioned "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" arrangements, everything we played were published, licensed versions, many from the Williams “Signature Edition” series for concert band. And we report what we play to the Norwegian performance rights organization (TONO).
 

Actually, for that piece we combined the parts from the purely instrumental concert band version with the choral parts from the orchestral version. 

Thank you, Thor, for doing an amazing job hosting our show!
(I was the one who hired Thor, so I’m at least partially responsible for him having to skip the Vienna event, which was announced after our concert date was set. Sorry, Thor! ) 
Your presentations were excellent, with just the right length and a great mix of interesting, relevant information and fun facts. People from the audience have told me they would have liked to meet you after the concert to congratulate you on your job and tell you how your introductions really enhanced the concert experience for them. Kudos! 
Cool also that you joined us for the after-concert party. 
It was exhilarating to perform a full concert of my favorite composer’s music, and playing the never-before-performed-live (as far as we know) "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" was a blast! Of course, we’re only non-professionals, so there were some rough spots – performing a two hour concert with some quite difficult symphonic music is a challenge!
The selections with the (really excellent) Skala Opera Choir were definitely some of the high points. They were located on two high balconies on each side of the hall, which gave the choir pieces a marvelous, majestic “surround” sound. As a 12 year-old in the audience commented on "Duel of the Fates":  "That was epic!"
Yes, we did both audio and video recordings of the event. I’ll check with the guys responsible for the recordings – hopefully we can post some of it here later.
 
 
Apart from the specially commissioned "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" arrangements, everything we played were published, licensed versions, many from the Williams “Signature Edition” series for concert band. And we report what we play to the Norwegian performance rights organization (TONO).
 

It's so cool that you had a choir! I wonder how pieces like Duel of the Fates sounded. I've only ever heard the instrumental arrangements of that.

Thank you, Thor, for doing an amazing job hosting our show!
(I was the one who hired Thor, so I’m at least partially responsible for him having to skip the Vienna event, which was announced after our concert date was set. Sorry, Thor! ) 
Your presentations were excellent, with just the right length and a great mix of interesting, relevant information and fun facts. People from the audience have told me they would have liked to meet you after the concert to congratulate you on your job and tell you how your introductions really enhanced the concert experience for them. Kudos! 
Cool also that you joined us for the after-concert party. 
It was exhilarating to perform a full concert of my favorite composer’s music, and playing the never-before-performed-live (as far as we know) "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" was a blast! Of course, we’re only non-professionals, so there were some rough spots – performing a two hour concert with some quite difficult symphonic music is a challenge!
The selections with the (really excellent) Skala Opera Choir were definitely some of the high points. They were located on two high balconies on each side of the hall, which gave the choir pieces a marvelous, majestic “surround” sound. As a 12 year-old in the audience commented on "Duel of the Fates":  "That was epic!"
Yes, we did both audio and video recordings of the event. I’ll check with the guys responsible for the recordings – hopefully we can post some of it here later.
 
 
Apart from the specially commissioned "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" arrangements, everything we played were published, licensed versions, many from the Williams “Signature Edition” series for concert band. And we report what we play to the Norwegian performance rights organization (TONO).
 

Thank you, Thor, for doing an amazing job hosting our show!
(I was the one who hired Thor, so I’m at least partially responsible for him having to skip the Vienna event, which was announced after our concert date was set. Sorry, Thor! ) 
Your presentations were excellent, with just the right length and a great mix of interesting, relevant information and fun facts. People from the audience have told me they would have liked to meet you after the concert to congratulate you on your job and tell you how your introductions really enhanced the concert experience for them. Kudos! 
Cool also that you joined us for the after-concert party. 
It was exhilarating to perform a full concert of my favorite composer’s music, and playing the never-before-performed-live (as far as we know) "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" was a blast! Of course, we’re only non-professionals, so there were some rough spots – performing a two hour concert with some quite difficult symphonic music is a challenge!
The selections with the (really excellent) Skala Opera Choir were definitely some of the high points. They were located on two high balconies on each side of the hall, which gave the choir pieces a marvelous, majestic “surround” sound. As a 12 year-old in the audience commented on "Duel of the Fates":  "That was epic!"
Yes, we did both audio and video recordings of the event. I’ll check with the guys responsible for the recordings – hopefully we can post some of it here later.
 
 
Apart from the specially commissioned "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" arrangements, everything we played were published, licensed versions, many from the Williams “Signature Edition” series for concert band. And we report what we play to the Norwegian performance rights organization (TONO).
 

Thank you, Thor, for doing an amazing job hosting our show!
(I was the one who hired Thor, so I’m at least partially responsible for him having to skip the Vienna event, which was announced after our concert date was set. Sorry, Thor! ) 
Your presentations were excellent, with just the right length and a great mix of interesting, relevant information and fun facts. People from the audience have told me they would have liked to meet you after the concert to congratulate you on your job and tell you how your introductions really enhanced the concert experience for them. Kudos! 
Cool also that you joined us for the after-concert party. 
It was exhilarating to perform a full concert of my favorite composer’s music, and playing the never-before-performed-live (as far as we know) "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" was a blast! Of course, we’re only non-professionals, so there were some rough spots – performing a two hour concert with some quite difficult symphonic music is a challenge!
The selections with the (really excellent) Skala Opera Choir were definitely some of the high points. They were located on two high balconies on each side of the hall, which gave the choir pieces a marvelous, majestic “surround” sound. As a 12 year-old in the audience commented on "Duel of the Fates":  "That was epic!"
Yes, we did both audio and video recordings of the event. I’ll check with the guys responsible for the recordings – hopefully we can post some of it here later.
 
 
Apart from the specially commissioned "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" arrangements, everything we played were published, licensed versions, many from the Williams “Signature Edition” series for concert band. And we report what we play to the Norwegian performance rights organization (TONO).
 

Thank you, Thor, for doing an amazing job hosting our show!
(I was the one who hired Thor, so I’m at least partially responsible for him having to skip the Vienna event, which was announced after our concert date was set. Sorry, Thor! ) 
Your presentations were excellent, with just the right length and a great mix of interesting, relevant information and fun facts. People from the audience have told me they would have liked to meet you after the concert to congratulate you on your job and tell you how your introductions really enhanced the concert experience for them. Kudos! 
Cool also that you joined us for the after-concert party. 
It was exhilarating to perform a full concert of my favorite composer’s music, and playing the never-before-performed-live (as far as we know) "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" was a blast! Of course, we’re only non-professionals, so there were some rough spots – performing a two hour concert with some quite difficult symphonic music is a challenge!
The selections with the (really excellent) Skala Opera Choir were definitely some of the high points. They were located on two high balconies on each side of the hall, which gave the choir pieces a marvelous, majestic “surround” sound. As a 12 year-old in the audience commented on "Duel of the Fates":  "That was epic!"
Yes, we did both audio and video recordings of the event. I’ll check with the guys responsible for the recordings – hopefully we can post some of it here later.
 
 
Apart from the specially commissioned "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" arrangements, everything we played were published, licensed versions, many from the Williams “Signature Edition” series for concert band. And we report what we play to the Norwegian performance rights organization (TONO).
 

OK, so while all of you were in Vienna for the John Williams concert on January 18th (and apparently had the time of your lives), I hosted a John Williams concert here in Oslo (well, actually a suburb of Oslo called Lørenskog). Most bizarre collision of events ever! Nils – who is a member here, and will no doubt chime in soon – plays clarinet in the Lørenskog band, and was more heavily involved in the event than I was; I was just a hired hand, really.
 
In any case, several hundred audience members showed up for this concert in the new Lørenskog House of Culture. The performers this evening were the Lørenskog band, accompanied by the Skala Opera Choir. Also featured were soloists from within the band, as well as an external soloist – violinst Aja Humm who has played with major orchestras, like the Oslo Philharmonic, and has her own string quartet called Fine Nordic Strings.
 
Although I was pissed to miss out on the Vienna concert and history being written down on the continent, this particular concert had one great advantage over that one – the world concert premieres of “Hassle in the Castle” from CHECKMATE and “Mambone” from BACHELOR FLAT! Both of these were newly arranged by composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen (perhaps most famous internationally for his AGE OF CONAN game scores). Everyone knows how much I obsess over early/obscure Williams and the chance to hear it live, so that was a treat. And then there were more classic selections, of course. That was also thrilling, especially the epic performance of “Duel of the Fates”.
 
There was apparently a video recording of the concert, but all I have at this moment is an audio file with medium sound quality (you can barely make out my own comments between the pieces…but that’s probably for the best, LOL!). I’m not sure I’m at liberty to post any of the audio clips here; Nils would have to approve first.
 
In any case, I just wanted to tell about this event, since it’s so rare to have the two aforementioned pieces performed live. Here’s the full concert programme:
 
1. Superman: The Movie: “The Planet Krypton”/”Superman March”
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: “Harry’s Wondrous World”
3. Checkmate: “Hassle in the Castle”
4. Jurassic Park: “Suite”
5. Schindler’s List: “Jewish Town”/”Theme” (violin: Aja Humm)
6. Catch Me If You Can: “Selections” (saxophone: Øivind Hansen)
7. Saving Private Ryan: “Hymn to the Fallen” (w/Skala Opera Choir)
8. Indiana Jones: “Keeper of the Grail”/”The Raider’s March”
 
- INTERMISSION –
 
9. Star Wars Saga: Main Title / Yoda’s Theme / The Imperial March / Princess Leia’s Theme / The Throne Room/Finale
10. The Terminal: “Viktor’s Tale” (clarinet: Christin Kolden)
11. E.T.: “Adventures on Earth” (selections)
12. Bachelor Flat: “Mambone”
13. The Phantom Menace: “Duel of the Fates” (w/Skala Opera Choir)
14. Amistad: “Dry Your Tears, Afrika” (w/Skala Opera Choir)
15. Encore: “The Olympic Spirit”
 
I’m waiting for pictures, videos and (better) audio to come in, but meanwhile, here’s a brief video snippet of the rehearsal of Schindler’s List the day before the concert, as posted on Facebook:
 
 

Thank you, Thor, for doing an amazing job hosting our show!
(I was the one who hired Thor, so I’m at least partially responsible for him having to skip the Vienna event, which was announced after our concert date was set. Sorry, Thor! ) 
Your presentations were excellent, with just the right length and a great mix of interesting, relevant information and fun facts. People from the audience have told me they would have liked to meet you after the concert to congratulate you on your job and tell you how your introductions really enhanced the concert experience for them. Kudos! 
Cool also that you joined us for the after-concert party. 
It was exhilarating to perform a full concert of my favorite composer’s music, and playing the never-before-performed-live (as far as we know) "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" was a blast! Of course, we’re only non-professionals, so there were some rough spots – performing a two hour concert with some quite difficult symphonic music is a challenge!
The selections with the (really excellent) Skala Opera Choir were definitely some of the high points. They were located on two high balconies on each side of the hall, which gave the choir pieces a marvelous, majestic “surround” sound. As a 12 year-old in the audience commented on "Duel of the Fates":  "That was epic!"
Yes, we did both audio and video recordings of the event. I’ll check with the guys responsible for the recordings – hopefully we can post some of it here later.
 
 
Apart from the specially commissioned "Hassle in the Castle" and "Mambone" arrangements, everything we played were published, licensed versions, many from the Williams “Signature Edition” series for concert band. And we report what we play to the Norwegian performance rights organization (TONO).
 

It's been great reading about how people had such a wonderful time in Vienna. Congratulations to eveyone who attended!
 
Also, it's heartening to see that Williams apparently is in great shape. I had assumed he no longer conducts whole concerts, as he's mostly done only second halves lately. And here he conducts for two and a half hours straight, two days in a row! Amazing and very uplifting!

Two things occurred to me:
 
1) I've now seen John Williams live as many times (3) as I've seen Jerry Goldsmith
2) I've now performed on a stage that Williams has also performed on

Yeah, he could just walk with his hands.

Yeah, I guess his walk isn't exactly sprightly. But his arms and upper body are probably in much better shape than his legs. 60 years of conducting will do that to you!.

It's been great reading about how people had such a wonderful time in Vienna. Congratulations to eveyone who attended!
 
Also, it's heartening to see that Williams apparently is in great shape. I had assumed he no longer conducts whole concerts, as he's mostly done only second halves lately. And here he conducts for two and a half hours straight, two days in a row! Amazing and very uplifting!

Looks like they are back in New York. Anne Sophie posted a selfie with Spielberg and Williams. 
 

Looks like their honeymoon.

It's been great reading about how people had such a wonderful time in Vienna. Congratulations to eveyone who attended!
 
Also, it's heartening to see that Williams apparently is in great shape. I had assumed he no longer conducts whole concerts, as he's mostly done only second halves lately. And here he conducts for two and a half hours straight, two days in a row! Amazing and very uplifting!

It's been great reading about how people had such a wonderful time in Vienna. Congratulations to eveyone who attended!
 
Also, it's heartening to see that Williams apparently is in great shape. I had assumed he no longer conducts whole concerts, as he's mostly done only second halves lately. And here he conducts for two and a half hours straight, two days in a row! Amazing and very uplifting!

He just needs a good enough orchestra to be bothered to do it!

It's been great reading about how people had such a wonderful time in Vienna. Congratulations to eveyone who attended!
 
Also, it's heartening to see that Williams apparently is in great shape. I had assumed he no longer conducts whole concerts, as he's mostly done only second halves lately. And here he conducts for two and a half hours straight, two days in a row! Amazing and very uplifting!

It's been great reading about how people had such a wonderful time in Vienna. Congratulations to eveyone who attended!
 
Also, it's heartening to see that Williams apparently is in great shape. I had assumed he no longer conducts whole concerts, as he's mostly done only second halves lately. And here he conducts for two and a half hours straight, two days in a row! Amazing and very uplifting!